April 2009

“Become a hunter of blessings, actively seeking them out in every experience and person you encounter”. – Kate Nowak

I wasn’t originally planning to follow up on last week’s blog, “This, or Something MUCH better,” about the outcome when I gave out my two $10 tithes.

However, I just received a letter from one of the two recipients that indicated my tithe is being even more widely circulated to do MORE good, thanks to his decision to “pay it forward.” I wanted to share the amazing results with you.

As you remember, I was originally given $10 by my church to give away to any person, place or institution that had inspired me – “fed me spiritual food.” But through a happy “mistake,” this $10 tithe I sent on to my friend in prison was returned to me — only to get even better!

“Mitch,” as I called him, is a young man whom I have liked and respected since I first met him several years ago when he was a college student, helping me figure out how to use my new computer.

He was incarcerated almost a year ago for an act of incredibly poor judgment, rather than true criminal intent.Since he has been “behind the Wall,” Mitch has done some amazing things, including taking on being the president of a prisonToastmasters group and life coaching his fellow-inmates. Through his trained coaching, he gives these men hope that they can one day turn their lives around and start again, despite the stigma of being ex-felons.Some of them are so inspired by Mitch’s coaching, they have decided train as coaches themselves when they are released!

Because I sent Mitch $10 in cash, the prison returned it to me and told me to send a cashiers check that could be deposited in his prison “account,” from which he could draw money for his necessities.I believe the Universe sent that $10 back to me so I would have a chance to do something even BETTER with it. I ended up sending him a $50 check instead, which delighted me much more than the $10 had, because I knew it could buy him many more necessities like toothpaste, soap and stamps with which to write me his weekly letter.

Well, I just got another letter from Mitch and the story of the tithe has had an even bigger RIPPLE effect for good.

As soon as he was told the $50 was in his account, Mitch decided to tithe one tenth of the amount given to him. That’s what a tithe truly represents.It is “paying forward” 10% of everything the Universe sends you to the person, place or institution where you got the prosperity mindset that caused you to attract the money into your life in the first place.It can be to the same or a different person, place or institution every time you tithe.

Mitch didn’t feel that the prison church services really offered him much “spiritual food.”As he said, “ Most Christians around here are ‘Sunday Christians.’ Mass is good for something to do…they listen, but they don’t follow through on the teachings.”

Instead, Mitch received his recent spiritual “food” from another inmate: “He is honestly trying to better himself.He inspires me to lose weight, as I always see him working out, and we share a lot in common.He is a humble man who lives off the paltry 12 cents an hour they give him.”

Mitch’s letter continued, “I sat with him and told him the story of the tithe, and he was very inspired. $5 for him is 48 hours of work, or a week and a day.He is on the landscape crew, breaking his back hoeing, raking, mowing and so on.”

Thus, Mitch decided to give this other inmate one-tenth of the $50 I had given him as his tithe.And what the man decided to do with it blew him away:

“We had spoken of doing a shindig — what people on the outside call a potluck.We always spoke of doing a shindig with the two of us, especially on an evening with a poor dinner.We thought it would be fun, but a modest potluck would cost us a month’s salary between us. So he decided to use the $5 to buy food and drink that we could share and commune over a dinner.”

Pretty amazing outcome so far, I thought.But it got EVEN better!

Mitch went on, “I must mention that the credo of a prisoner when told ‘here is 5 bucks, no strings attached,’ is: Take the money and RUN!The fact that he says, ‘Let’s share it’ says a lot. It was also an opportunity to open with some coaching with him.”

Wow! This was absolutely the BEST $50 I have ever spent in my entire life!

As I read Mitch’s letter, I was also reminded of the words of a powerful guest speaker at my church last Sunday, whom I will write about in more detail in the next blog.Niurka said, “One person’s awakening can transform the consciousness of the planet.”

She is right.Mahatma Gandhi’s personal awakening gave an entire continent its freedom. He, in turn, inspired Martin Luther King Jr. to begin a movement that gave every citizen of the United States of America our true freedom.

Who knows what the ultimate outcome of one shindig might turn out to be?

MONTHLY REMINDER

The next F.R.E.E.Create Prosperity Now 60-minute tele-class will be held on Wednesday, April 29 at 6:00pm PACIFIC. This month’s topic is “Be Willing to Receive!” Join us to learn how to recognize the answer to your Intention, even when it comes in an unusual disguise! If you can’t be there, the call REPLAY will be sent to you, but ONLY if you have pre-registered. So send your full name and email to: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com. The call number and password will be emailed to you the day before the call. Please let me know if you plan to be there live or via replay, so we’ll be sure to have plenty of lines available.And don’t forget to invite a FRIEND – they’ll thank you for it!

Establishing goals is all right, if you don’t let them deprive you of interesting detours. – Doug Larson

I promised you to follow up on Blog 53, entitled “A Generous Spirit,” and tell you the outcome when I gave out my two $10 tithes.As you will remember, my minister announced at church one Sunday in March that instead of the Board of Trustees picking a worthy organization to tithe to (giving 10% of all the income that the church had received the prior month), this month, everyone was to take an envelope out of the collection plate containing a $10 bill. We were to make our own decision to tithe to a person or institution we felt had nourished our spirit and inspired us personally.

I received a second $10 to give away because one woman gave me her tithe, saying that I had inspired HER!I was overjoyed to have two $10 bills to give away, because I had been torn between honoring two people I find equally inspiring.Thus, my intention was fulfilled immediately – always a good sign!But it got even better!

I rushed home and prepared two letters explaining my reasoning for choosing each man. The first is a former client who has been extraordinary in his steadfast belief that the Universe will provide the “How.”He is the owner of a very successful business he has run for decades, which helps thousands of people.Unfortunately, without provocation, he was victimized by someone who filed a malicious lawsuit against him, which dragged on for some time before he ultimately settled it.In defending himself and fighting to clear his good name, he incurred three quarters of a million dollars of debt, mortgaged his home to the hilt, and is now struggling to keep the doors of his business open and pay employees every month.

He has hung on, resisting a valid way out – declaring bankruptcy.Instead, at great personal sacrifice, he has continued to keep his business running, his large staff employed and his customers served. He has had moments of depression and despair, but he has always pulled himself back from the brink with the faith that his highest good will ultimately be served from this experience.I cannot imagine myself being so strong and determined in his position. To me, he represents FAITH of an extraordinary magnitude.

The outcome of sending my tithe to him is somewhat strange.I have not heard from him since.Our coaching had ended just before I sent my tithe, and I know he was embarrassed to owe me money he can’t pay back right now, even though I assured him that it’s perfectly OK.I hoped my letter and the tithe would lift his spirits, and remind him how much he has given to ME via inspiration.But he is a very proud man.He has always been “the strong one” whom friends, family, employees and community have turned to for help.To accept anything for himself is very hard for him.Still, I have to believe the tribute meant something to him, and it certainly made ME feel good.So, in my mind, it was $10 well spent!

My second tithe produced an even more unusual outcome – and gave me the reminder that turned into the topic of this week’s blog.

I gave my second tithe to someone about whom I have written before, in Blog 41, entitled “Adversity Becomes Opportunity.” “Mitch,” as I will call him, is a young man whom I have liked and respected since I first met him several years ago when he was a college student, helping me figure out how to use my new computer.

He was incarcerated almost a year ago for an act of incredibly poor judgment, rather than true criminal intent.His actions did not directly harm anyone but himself.Unfortunately, because he used the Internet in the commission of his crime, his was a federal offense.Thus, despite taking 100% responsibility and pleading guilty, this very kind and gentle man was sentenced to several years in federal prison, even though it was his first brush with the law.

Since he has been in prison, Mitch has done some amazing things.He is the president of a Toastmasters group in prison!Although they have zero materials, he has bravely reached out for help and has received it from someone who is high up in Toastmasters.That kind stranger to Mitch has been sending him training manuals and helping him as a “remote advisor” to the group.

Mitch also coaches inside prison.As a trained life coach, he has been helping his clients behind bars learn to take 100% responsibility for their actions and the impact they have had on others. Through his coaching, he gives these men hope that they can one day turn their lives around and start again, despite the stigma of being an ex-felon.Some of them are so inspired by Mitch, they also want to become coaches when they are released!

I have been corresponding with Mitch weekly, sending him the blog and reading his letters about what life is like “behind the wall.”There is sometimes sadness, but no self-pity in his writing.And, amazingly, he has not become hardened and cynical – he is not “resigned.” Rather, he has actually strengthened his faith and has come to believe that God has placed him right where he needs to be in order do something that is part of his life’s purpose.What an extraordinary way to turn adversity into opportunity!Mitch’s experience reminds me what really matters in life is not the challenges we face, but the people we help along the way.

Mitch told me that prisoners must pay for ALL their necessities except food – that means a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap – you name it.Mitch can only write to me if he has enough money for paper and stamps. He earns just a few dollars a month working at a prison job, so every dollar he gets from friends on the “outside” matters a great deal.Therefore, I knew my $10 tithe would go a LONG way with Mitch!

I sent the $10 bill in the envelope it came in, which was inscribed, “God is my Source,” inside another envelope, along with my letter of tribute to him.I was a bit nervous because I knew all mail was opened before it was given to him, and I wasn’t sure that cash would actually reach him.Still, I had faith that the Universe would get it to him somehow, because it was clearly for his good. Little did I know how much good!

About a week later, the prison returned it to me with a form letter saying that I had sent “contraband” to a prisoner and that I would have to re-send it to a central address in Iowa as a cashier’s check with his name and prisoner number on it.It would then be deposited in his prison “account,” from which he could draw money for his necessities.

At first, I was a little deflated, knowing Mitch had received my letter telling him how much he inspires me, but didn’t get the tithe to go with it!He soon wrote, and said he appreciated the tribute, but was unsure if someone had stolen the cash.(Apparently, he didn’t know what happens to cash either, as his friends and family always send money through the proper channels.)If someone did take it, he wrote, we can be assured that they must need it even MORE than he does, and that it was directed by the Universe into the proper hands. His attitude amazed me and made me even more certain I had chosen the right person for my tithe!

So here’s the “MUCH better” part of the story:I believe that everything that happens in your life is meant for your very Highest Good, ultimately — even when you ask the Universe for something you really want, but it doesn’t get delivered.So, why are your requests sometimes “denied,” if the Law of Attraction is supposed to work ALL of the time?

The first reason is that your Intention is actually just somewhat delayed, rather than denied, asthe Universe works to align multiple circumstances and bring people together for the highest good of EVERYONE involved.I have seen this happen many times.

For example, one of my clients needed to rent out her home while she went away to ministerial school in another state.She was somewhat nervous about finding a stranger she felt she could trust with her home.Still, she set her intention to find the perfect person and waited patiently, leaving the “How” up to the Universe. Within a couple of months, unbeknownst to her, another woman at her church needed to quickly find a new place to live with her daughter in order to escape a negative environment.Through their mutual ties at church, the Universe brought them together for the HIGHEST good of BOTH of them, at just the perfect moment to fulfill their individual needs.

The second possible reason you might not get what you asked for is that there is something EVEN BETTER that the Universe has in store for you than what you think is good for you. In this case, the Universe doesn’t fulfill your stated Intention, but instead sends you something that is for your very highest good.

That is what ultimately happened for “Mitch.”When I went to my bank to purchase a cashier’s check for $10, I learned that it would cost me $4 in fees.That just seemed ridiculous to me – paying $4 in order to send $10 to him!So when the teller asked me how much I would like the check to be made out for, the words just seemed to come out of my mouth all by themselves: “Fifty dollars, please!”And the instant I said them, I knew that it just felt right. I was actually much happier sending Mitch a $50 tribute than I had been about a $10 one.I believe that is exactly why the Universe sent it back to me. While apparently denying us both the pleasure of giving and receiving the original tithe, the Universe was actually setting us both up for something EVEN BETTER!

This is why I coach my clients that, when creating an Intention for something you want to manifest in 30 days or less, always add at the end: “This, or something BETTER!”When you are willing to trust the Universe to have the “big picture” and to deliver the very BEST outcome, you will often receive something even more perfect than you could have imagined for yourself.

Mitch and I both got somethingMUCH better — and we couldn’t be happier!

MONTHLY REMINDER

The next F.R.E.E.Create Prosperity Now 60-minute tele-class will be held on Wednesday, April 29 at 6:00pm PACIFIC. This month’s topic is “Be Willing to Receive!” Join us to learn how to recognize the answer to your Intention, even when it comes in an unusual disguise! If you can’t be there, the call REPLAY will be sent to you, but ONLY if you have pre-registered. So send your full name and email to: caroll@practicalprosperitycoach.com. The call number and password will be emailed to you the day before the call. Please let me know if you plan to be there live or via replay, so we’ll be sure to have plenty of lines available.And don’t forget to invite a FRIEND – they’ll thank you for it!

For the spiritual being, intuition is far more than a hunch.It is viewed as guidance or God talking, and this inner insight is never taken lightly or ignored. – Dr. Wayne Dyer

First, I promised you at the end of last week’s blog that I would tell you to whom I gave my special tithes and the outcome.It is shaping up to be a great example of how the Universe always sends us our very highest good, if only we are open and receptive.However, the final outcome is not yet complete, so I will wait until next week to finish the story.

For this week, I found my Prosperity topic as I was reading the tagline below the signature on an email from one of my dear coach friends.She calls herself a Pause Coach and she says her purpose is to teach people to breathe. Her tagline asks: “When was the last time that you paused, stopped to take in what is around you?Do you remember breathing?”What great questions!What would your answers be?

I have to admit that my life sometimes feels as though I am running very hard just to keep my head above a rushing river of information and mental demands. In fact, I’d say I feel mentally “out of breath” when I am very busy. In fact, I often catch myself literally holding my breath while concentrating hard on some mental task. Do you do that, too?

Ironically, this starves your brain of the very oxygen it needs to think clearly! In fact, the word “inspire” stems from the Latin inspirare, meaning “to breathe” – which is also the source of the English word “spirit.”So, when we are most in need of inspiration, we ironically can cut off the very source of it when we forget to breathe!

My coach friend encourages her clients to pause frequently during the day and simply breathe – to relax the mind, body and spirit for just a few moments. She also teaches the value of caring for our own well-being, just as we do for everyone else’s in our lives.Remember the airlines’ pre-flight safety instruction? When the oxygen mask drops from the ceiling, put it over your own nose and mouth FIRST — and THEN you can turn to the child next to you and help them with theirs!This is a great reminder thatif you aren’t centered, happy and well yourself, you won’t be able to do much to improve the lives of your loved ones!

As you know, the Law of Attraction states that, “energy attraction likes energy.”When you send your positive energetic vibration (i.e., your thoughts plus your emotions) out into the world, the way that the thing you want it is attracted to you is usually via the Universe sending you an intuitive or inspired idea which provides the “How” for fulfilling your desire. Therefore, in order to manifest your intentions using the Law of Attraction, it is essential to frequently pause and quiet your mind, so it can be open and receptive to the inspiration that the Universe is trying to send you.

While prayers or affirmations are the means for you to ASK the Universe for what you want, meditating (mental pausing) is the means for you make yourself receptive to the answer the Universe sends back to you.If you don’t quiet your Ego mind’s constant chatter, you could miss the inspired idea that leads you to take the specific action which, in turn, fulfills your desire by the easiest, most efficient means possible.

This is why every morning, before I start my day, I always spend 20 minutes in prayer and meditation.I read positive affirmations aloud, including my current Big Intention, which I then release to the Universe, with a request to show me the “How.” Then I consciously breathe to relax my body and open my mind and heart to recognize the How when the Universe delivers it.Finally, I write in my Gratitude Journal the 10 things that I am especially grateful that day because I know that it is only when we are grateful for what we already have that the Universe knows we are receptive to accept even more good.

Then I go for a 40-minute walk in the fresh air and sunshine, which is a very time-efficient way to exercise, breathe, quiet my mind and feel deep gratitude for the world I live in — all at once.I also feel most receptive to the How, and often get some of my best ideas and solutions to problems, when I am on my walk. (This is why I’ve learned to carry a pen and paper with me!)

I also recommend that you consciously choose a mental “trigger” to remind you to pause and breathe, and maybe to express gratitude for ONE thing in your life, throughout your day.It could be every time you open a door, or every time you put down the phone or stand up from your chair.If you practice doing it every time you encounter that “trigger,” eventually, it will become an empowering habit for you to continuously pause, breathe and feel grateful for your life, regardless of the challenges you may be facing at the moment.

Soon, you will find yourself feeling more refreshed, relaxed and open to receive the inspiring solutions and opportunities the Universe offers to every problem you face and every desire you want to manifest.

The Universe is sending you the How right now, if you will just pause and breathe it in!